How much has HRT helped you with chest and abdomen hair?

[Guest mumbaigirl]

I can't wax or shave-I get boils and terrible in-growths and they leave ugly scars (I'm Indian with medium brown skin and develop hyperpigmentation easily) And I hate having chest and abdomen hair! So I'm thinking of laser but I'm not sure if laser will work on my chest and abdomen as the hair growth is fine. I have dark black long hair but they do not seem to be thick/coarse enough to be affected my laser. In fact, there is a risk of laser induced growth.

I have been reading a lot about hormones and their effect on body hair but the information on the internet seems to be flawed. There are transwomen who say their chest hair "disappeared completely" in a year or two on hormones. I'm not sure if it's possible though. So my main questions are:

1. What kind of hair in terms of density(total number of hairs) and coarseness(thickness of the hair) did you have on chest and abdomen Pre-HRT?

2. How did HRT help?

Did HRT help in reducing the total number of hairs? ( Like some or most disappeared completely)

OR

Did HRT help by making the hair fine(almost vellus)? if the answer to this question is yes, do you still need to wax or shave? or is the vellus hair almost invisible?

3. How long did it take for HRT to affect chest and abdomen hair significantly?

4. How old were you when HRT started? ( I think older people tend to have better body hair reduction than younger ones. I'm not sure about it. Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

5. Anyone who's had done electrolysis on this area? How many hours did it take? And over how many months?

Thanks

[Guest musicalice]

Hi Mumbaigirl

This is something I've been wondering about, since I have a veritable carpet down my front which is really nasty. I use an epilator at the moment, but the marks and redness it leaves aren't nice. I'm going to ask my HRT doctor when I see him on the 15th what he would expect. (I'm pre-HRT atm).

Also, I've heard that if you go to a salon for waxing (rather than something you buy at the pharmacy), they use a different sort of wax that doesn't irritate your skin so much. You could ask them to try a test patch to gauge your skin's reaction? Obviously it's a lot more costly though...

Nice to meet you

Alice.

[Guest mumbaigirl]

Hi Alice

Thanks for the reply.

My dermatologist told me my skin is too sensitive for waxing and a different technique or wax wouldn't help.

Waxing at a salon here is not very expensive. It can be done for less than 15 US$ on full body. So that's not really a problem.

Redness after waxing (or any form of epilation) is common and harmless unless it lasts for more than 2 days. You could try pure cool aloe vera gel to soothe your skin after epilating.

Nice meeting you too.

[Guest musicalice]

I usually use cold water to cool the skin and soothe the redness; then I apply sudocrem, which is a gentle antiseptic cream, to stop anything nasty getting through the open pores. Then I moisturise. Exfoliating is said to help as well. Though I'll try aloe vera, thanks for the tip

[Guest Mayi]

Hiya mumbaigirl!

Have you tried other options instead of waxing, like sugaring? Sugaring is kinda like waxing, but much softer on you skin. Preparing the sugaring paste can take some practice though, or you could try buying prepared paste maybe...

An expensive but maybe option, could be using nair... evil nair requires a super good timing however, or your skin could be burnt ^^,. If everything goes well however, your skin ends smooth and clean

[Guest Robin Winter]

I can't wax or shave-I get boils and terrible in-growths and they leave ugly scars...

Thanks

I have the same problem...I use an epilator and tweezers on my chest with no problems, but I'm still furry below there

So far HRT hasn't helped, but it's only been 7 months for me. However, I noticed that the longer I've been on HRT, the less I get ingrown hairs on my legs, so I'm thinking I might give it another shot on my abdomen in a while and see what happens.

[Guest mumbaigirl]

@Alice: Welcome

@ Mayi: I have tried Anne French (a chemical depilatory cream similar to Nair) on my legs. Gave me in-growths. It works great otherwise though! Well sugaring removes hair at the root just like waxing and hence, it will cause boils too

@Shilo: Epilators remove hair at the root and hence, can also cause boils. Can't use them.

I'm so unlucky, I know, I know!

[Guest Donna Jean]

.,

Hey, Hon......

I have an answer for you regarding HRT and chest/body hair......

When I was 55 years old I had heavy body hair...arms, chest, body, legs....etc.

I started transition at 58 and after almost 3 years I have almost no body hair (still have facial hair ...using electrolysis on that...)

I shave various body parts in the shower every 2/3 weeks and that is all I really need....

Most girls that have been on HRT a couple years or so will say about the same thing.....

Huggs

Dee Jay

[Guest Lacey Lynne]

There is much variety.

In just a little over 2 weeks, I'll have been on HRT for 2 years. I have to shave EVERYWHERE on my body AT LEAST once a week and could do so up to three times a week, but it's too much of a hassle. It's almost supernaturally unreal. This is one of the main reasons I ponder detransitioning often ... sigh.

Realize, please, that my case, evidently, is extremely rare. There are other complications too. What a trip ... sigh.

Peace Lacey

[Cyndee]

Everybody is different, here is my experience.

I shaved my legs / torso every 3 days like clockwork before HRT. My wife would wax my back every few months. Now after about 19 weeks of HRT, I am happy to say I have seen a real improvement. It seems like there are less and less hairs growing back out on my torso and legs, it just seems to be going away, wow. I now only need to shave about once per week, and what's there is finer and softer, it has made the whole experience much more tolerable in what seems like a short time for me. I just love body creams and lotions, feels so good.

C -

[Guest NadineB]

I have been on Hrt for for a year and 9 months and at this stage I have a couple of fine hairs on my nipples left. Chest hair is gone, I got a light fuzz on my lower back. I now shave my legs every two-three weeks. My arms have light blond fine hairs. I still shave my face but can get away with every second day shaving.

Before Hrt, I had dark hair on my chest, and nipples. No too thick but hair non the less. Needed to shave every few days, lower back always felt like a rug to me. My legs would have stubble within a couple hours after shaving. My arm hairs were dark brown and a bit dense.

You weren't too specific about the ingrown hairs and boils, but I am assuming they are on the back of your legs and inner thighs, try shave that area less frequent. And wash it with dead sea salt. I have discovered that most woman only shave to above their knees, the rest they do as needed. Hope this helps.

Luv Nadine

[Guest]

Darn! Six months of HRT and no change at all. Of course, there was no hair to begin with.

I had some stubborn whiskers, which my electrologist says had become fine like feminine hair before the last of them were erased.

Sorry about this post - it hung around and I finally couldn't resist being a smart-donkey.

Love, Megan

[Guest Mia J]

Hello and in answer to your questions.

I am white and fair skinned.

I have been on HRT for about 16 months now.

Before HRT I had sparse dark chest and abdominal hair and medium leg hair.

After about 3 months on HRT I noticed a change in that the hair on my body was much finer.

After a few more months the chest and abdominal hair had seemed to stop growing and the hair on my arms and legs was much finer and sparser.

I no longer have to shave my chest or abdominal area and I epilate my legs and arms about once every two to three months as needed.

My facial hair has always been thin and I was never able to grow a beard.

Mia

[Guest mumbaigirl]

@ Donna: You gave me some hope. Hehe. Thanks. Hugs

@Lacey: Are your taking very low doses of hormones?

@Cynthia: That's great to know.

@Nadine: I get boils and in grown hairs all over my torso and legs. Not JUST on the back of legs and inner thighs. I'll look up for dead sea salt. Thanks

@Megan: *envious* hehe.

@Mia : Trust me, you're blessed! *envious again!* Hehe

Thank you all for sharing your experience.